PROVO -- Basking in the spring sun, Renae Brooks slowly wrapped yarn around wooden pegs on a hand-held loom to finish a hat that will be given to a homeless shelter.
Brooks, who made the trek to Utah this week from Washington for Brigham Young University's Women's Conference, worked for two hours on the cap -- but she couldn't be happier."This makes me want to go home and do more than what we've been doing," said Brooks, one of about 10,000 women who toiled at a dozen projects Wednesday at the "Sisterhood Through Service" event at Cougar Stadium.
The service day kicked off BYU's Women's Conference 2000, which ends Friday after two days of workshops, speakers and musical productions. More than 20,000 people are expected to attend.
After the doors opened at 2 p.m., throngs of women, plus a handful of young men, tied quilts, painted wooden toys, made stuffed animals for children in crisis shelters, collected goods for food banks, compiled hygiene kits for new mothers in poor countries and extracted names for the Family History Library.
And until Friday, attendees can give blood at stations manned by the American Red Cross.
If 2,000 units of blood are given during the event, it will be the largest woman-sponsored blood drive in Red Cross history.
Sue Hunsaker and Amy Hutchins had spent a few frustrating hours tying quilts on on the football field and were heading toward the blood-drive area.
"I'm not a quilter. We bled twice," said Hunsaker, who pricked herself twice with the needles. "Now, we're going to go give our blood."
Hutchins flew to Utah from San Francisco for the event, which is tailored specifically for women members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She didn't think twice about taking off work to spend a day serving.
"It's about making a difference and helping people across the world," Hutchins said. "It's also an opportunity to come together with women who all have something in common."
Wendy Watson, who oversaw planning for the two-day meet in Provo, said the five-hour service day is "one of the best parts" of Women's Conference.
Watson said the idea to plan a day of hard work for the less fortunate to start the conference was initially met with hesitancy by colleagues who help plan the event.
Their arguments? Many women arrive at the popular conference exhausted, hoping to relax, take a breather from the plethora of professional and family duties.
But Watson believes that women are happiest when they are working side-by-side with their sisters in faith, assisting other people. Last year, at the first service day, more than 5,000 women showed, ready to work.
"Service is what brings women up," said Watson, a BYU professor. "That's why they came out of the woodwork."
Conference attendees were surprised at the 8:30 a.m. opening session Thursday with a videotaped message from President Gordon B. Hinckley, leader of the 11 million-member church.
Mary Ellen Smoot, Relief Society General President, BYU President Merrill J. Bateman and NFL star Steve Young will be some of the featured speakers at Thursday's meeting.
Tickets are available for Friday's production of "Women of Light: A Musical Celebration."
Ticket prices are $12 and $15 and can be bought at the Marriott Center Ticket Office, 1-800-322-BYU1 or ext. 8-BYU1. All proceeds from the performance will be given to a charity, Watson said.
You can reach Jeffrey P. Haney by e-mail at jeffh@desnews.com